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Puppy Raiser Questionnaire – In For Training

November 30, 2011 By 5 Comments

It’s been over a month since Dublin went in for formal guide dog training and I really haven’t done too much here on the blog, on his facebook page, his YouTube channel, or on his Twitter account.  However, that’s all about to change starting with this short blog post about one of the last reports we filled out before turning Dublin in for formal training.

A couple months ago we received a letter in the mail telling us that it was time to bring Dublin back to guide dog school for his formal guide dog training.  Included with that letter was a short questionnaire that we filled out letting the guide dog trainers know a little bit about Dublin, how he did in his dog obedience training classes, and anything that might be helpful during his stay at guide dog college.  Here are the questions and answers we provided.

Dublin and Guide Dog School

Dropping Dublin off at Guide Dog School

Puppy Raiser Turn In Questionnaire

Dear Puppy Raisers:

Listed below are some questions that will help the trainers in knowing a little more about your puppy.

Please fill it out to the best of your knowledge and bring it with you to the luncheon.

THANK YOU

Puppy’s Name: Dublin

1. How many family members worked with the puppy?: 1

2. Where does the puppy sleep at night?: Crate next to the bed

Have you ever used a crate?: Yes

3. What are the dogs favorite activities: he likes playing with my o

ther dog Linus or lay quietly chewing on a bone.

4. What is it’s favorite toy?: Kong

5. What reaction does your dog have to loud noises?: Startled or alert and recovers quickly.

Barking dogs?: Alert sometimes excited.

6. Has your dog been exposed to other animals?: Yes, horses, dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, llamas, snakes, lizards.

7. In what kind of neighborhood environment did your puppy grow up? (Sidewalk less areas, livestock areas, high traffic areas): Condo community with sidewalks on a golf course.

8. How is your puppy at being restrained?: excited, but ok.

During Vet exam?: excited, but ok.

While cleaning its ears?: Dublin has had many ear infections and will sit calmly to get his ears cleaned.

While on tie-down: he remains quiet on a tie-down.

9. Any chronic health problems?: Ear infections.

10. Any problem areas?: Over excited on meet and greets.  Mouthy behavior.  Doesn’t like getting his nails trimmed.

11. How much is your dog currently eating?: 1 1/2 cups 2x a day.

What brand of food?: Purina Pro Plan Chicken.

12. Please list anything you would like the trainers to know about your puppy?: He’s still a very mouthy dog mostly licking now.  On a couple occasions with other dogs on outings he’s been very excited and lacked focus, but when we’re not with other dogs on outings he usually does quite well. His obedience is good, but can use work on sit-stays and down-stays.

As I mentioned it’s been a little over a month since Dublin went off to college.  We still haven’t heard anything back from our little puppy in training, but at this point in time they always say that “no news is good news”.

As a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America I know we all receive this Puppy Raiser Questionnaire, but how about the other organizations?  Do any of you out their who puppy raise for other guide or service dog organizations receive a similar questionnaire?  Let us know in the comment section below.

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Formal Guide Dog Training

October 9, 2011 By 5 Comments

Dear Colby,

Well, the time is here, the day you’ve been anticipating since you picked up Dublin all those months ago.  It is now time for Dublin to come in for his formal guide dog training.

We know this is a hard time for you and we would like to try to make it a little easier by inviting you to a Luncheon on October, 29, 2011 at 12:00 noon.

This is just a fun day for you and the other puppy raisers for moral support and to say good-bye to your puppy until Graduation Day.  After we are done eating, talking and playing, we will walk the dogs down to the kennel where you will be able to put them in their runs.

Please give us a call to let us know that you will be attending and how many of you in your group.  If you cannot make it or prefer to bring Dublin in on a different day, please give us a call to let us know when you will be bringing him in.

While he is here, please feel free to call at any time and we will let you know how Dublin is doing in his training.

Enclosed you will find questionnaires to be filled out and brought to the luncheon, along with his Veterinary Medical Records and jacket.  If you would like to bring a toy to share with the others, please do so.  (Hard rubber toys, Kongs, hard bones would be great!)

Again, thank you for all the love, support and a job well done!  If you are thinking about a new puppy, please give me a call — we have PLENTY coming up.

Sincerely,

Guide Dogs of America

Dublin is Going In For Formal Guide Dog Training

So there’s the official letter from Guide Dogs of America we just received.  It’s hard to believe that my little puppy is already going into formal guide dog training.  It seems like not that long ago we were picking him up and putting together his first Puppy In Training TV video.

We still have a few weeks left with Dublin and plan on shooting several more videos and posting several new episodes of Puppy In Training TV during that time.  So stay tuned as we work furiously to get those last few episodes up to YouTube and the website.

As guide dog puppy raisers we always here the question: how do you do it?  meaning how to you let your puppy go?  I have to say it’s very difficult, but at the same time very exciting to see the puppy you raised move on to help someone achieve independence.  While I’m sad to see Dublin leave I’m happy that he will be doing something special for someone else.

Have you turned in a puppy in training to formal training?  If so, tell us about your experience.

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How I Became A Guide Dog Puppy Raiser

June 7, 2011 By 1 Comment

How I became a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser brings us back more than 5 years ago.  It all started at the  Orange County Pet Expo way back in 2006. Becoming a guide dog puppy raiser was one of several volunteer activities I was considering at the time.

In the past I had volunteered for many other organizations, but now I wanted to do something to help out people and animals. The number 1 and number 2 volunteer activities on my list were:

  1. Fostering Dogs and Puppies
  2. Guide Dog Puppy Raiser

Here’s how we went from volunteering for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics to Fostering Dogs and Puppies to finally becoming Guide Dog Puppy Raisers!

Fostering Dogs And Puppies

As I mentioned earlier I was interested in volunteering my time helping both people and animals. Back in 2006 I had recently volunteered to help put up dry wall at one of the local habit for humanity homes and while it was/is very fulfilling to help out others by building a home I wanted to do something that involved helping out both people and animals.

A few weeks after putting up drywall for Habitat for Humanity I attended the OC Pet Expo which is held every year in April at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA about 15 minutes from my house. I spoke with many of the volunteers at various organizations and decided that I either wanted to volunteer as a foster parent for dogs and puppies or as a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser.

Becoming a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser was a long term commitment. Most organizations required you to raise a puppy from approximately 7 weeks of age until they were 18 months old…that’s nearly 1 1/2 years!!! However, fostering was much more short term and usually lasted until your foster puppy was adopted. I therefore opted to try fostering with a local rescue called Cuddly Canines. We had the opportunity to rescue and adopt out two litters of puppies and a 4 year old purebred long haired German Shepherd. Here’s a picture of the German Shepherd puppies we rescued:

German Shepherd Puppies

I really enjoyed fostering puppies. Out of the twelve puppies and dogs we fostered the shortest stay in our home was 2 weeks and the longest stay was 3 months. However, I have heard that some dogs and puppies can end up at your home for much longer than 3 months.

Guide Dog Puppy Raisers

I really enjoyed fostering puppies however, I wanted to give Guide Dog Puppy Raising a try. I knew the commitment would be much longer then fostering, but the thought of helping raise, train, and socialize a puppy to become a working guide dog for someone in need sounded like an amazing way to spend my free time.

So I went ahead and submitted my application to the three local guide dog organizations with groups located in Southern California: Guide Dogs of America, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Guide Dogs of the Desert.

Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) – GDB was the first organization to contact me. I spoke with two of GDB’s group leaders and also attended several meetings and outings. I was very much on the verge of joining GDB as a puppy raiser.

Guide Dogs of America (GDA) – I submitted my application to GDA in October, I called the puppy department three times, and I emailed them several times. I was very persistent, but I nearly gave up on GDA until late December when I was finally scheduled for a home interview.

Guide Dogs of the Desert (GDD) – I submitted my application and emailed them several times, but never heard back from them.

I know all of these organizations are very busy so I don’t fault any of them when it takes a little time to get back in touch. Guide Dogs for the Blind was by far the fastest and most responsive of the three organizations. However, after attending several group meetings I felt like I was lost amongst a large group and had some difficulty making a connection. As I mentioned Guide Dogs for the Desert never got back in touch with me after I sent my application so I really can’t comment on their group meetings or activities. Finally, after waiting nearly 3 months I had the opportunity to speak with the Orange County Guide Dogs of America (OCGDA) Group leader on the phone and then during our home interview. After speaking to Tammy and attending several group meetings I really enjoyed the smaller more personable Orange County Guide Dog Puppy Raising group. I went ahead and decided that the Orange County Guide Dogs of America Puppy Raising Group was the group for me.

I’m currently raising my third guide dog puppy in training for Guide Dogs of America and I’ve been documenting most of their activities on this blog since 2007. We also started a YouTube Channel to document our current pup, Dublin’s adventures as a Guide Dog Puppy. Here’s the first episode:

If you’d like to be alerted to Dublin’s future Puppy In Training TV episodes then you can follow our Blog, YouTube Channel, Facebook page, or our Twitter account.

So that’s how I became a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser!  Are you interested in becoming a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser too?  If so, then make sure you come back tomorrow and find out how you can become a guide dog puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America.

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Guide Dog Obedience Training

October 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Today (actually this past Saturday) we went to Guide Dog Obedience Training at the Guide Dogs of America (GDA) campus in Sylmar, California. GDA offers guide dog obedience training classes specifically for our puppies in training. These classes help us and our puppy stay on track through the first year of our puppy’s development.  GDA classes are age-specific and held once a month.  Here’s the current schedule:

9:00 – 10:00am – 12 months and over
10:30 – 11:30am – 5 months – 12 months
12:00 – 1:00pm – 7 weeks – 5 months
1:30 – 2:30pm – Breeder Stock Only

Sorry we didn’t get any puppy training videos with Dublin at GDA Obedience.

Guide Dog Obedience Training

Today at GDA Puppy Obedience training there were three obedience stations.

STATION 1: Recall under blindfold while your puppy is playing.  We took Dublin in to an enclosed play area, I put on a blindfold and had three chances to get him to come to me by calling his name. After calling his name the first time I could hear him sprinting back and forth with puppy zoomie energy (seemed hopeless for us).  The second time I called “Dublin, Come”…nothing.  The third time I called his name I happened to stick my arm out and catch him as he was zooming by…does that count??? Nope! -FAIL! :(

STATION 2: Recall on a long line with distractions.  We lined up four puppies on long lines, put them in a sit-stay, and walked to the end of the lines. We called each puppy individually. If you didn’t call your puppy he was to remain in a sit-stay. He wasn’t perfect, but Dublin held a sit-stay twice when all the other dogs broke their sit-stay. Good job Dublin! -PASS! :)

STATION 3: Feed your puppy with a blindfold. Four of us stood three feet from a table that had dog bowls and kibble. We put our puppies in a sit-stay, put on our blind folds, walked to the table grabbed a bowl a handful of kibble, and our pups were to remain in a sit-stay until we released them. Dublin did perfect w/ me, but then we traded dogs and I could hear his new handler struggling a little to keep him in a sit-stay. -SEMI-PASS? :|

What Dublin Learned In Puppy Training

This was Dublin’s first class in the 5-12 month puppy age bracket and I thought he did excellent.  GDA Dog Obedience Training also gave Dublin and I an idea about some of the things we need to work on.

At Station 1 we learned that we need to work on recalls when Dublin is playing in new areas.  Dublin is excellent with his recall when their are no distractions in our house and at my office at work.  However, we have not practiced in new areas, with new smells, and toy distractions.

At Station 2 we learned that recalls on a long lines are much different when there are puppy distractions.  Once one puppy starts running the others often follow.  This is another area we need to work on.

At Station 3 we learned that it’s important for Dublin to follow commands from others.  This station showed us that not only do we need to work with Dublin and his training, but it’s also important to have others work with Dublin and his puppy training as well.

Guide Dog Obedience Training at GDA was a great experience for both Dublin and I.  We learned a lot and it gives us a chance to work on some of our short comings.  We also had the opportunity to see some of Dublin’s siblings and learn how they are progressing.  Overall it was a great day and we hope to attend the next puppy obedience training next month.

If you want to see the schedule for upcoming GDA Obedience Classes then visit the Puppy Raising Events page on the GDA website and scroll to the bottom of the page.

How about you?  Have you ever attended Guide Dog Obedience Training at Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar, California?  If you have we’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Things To Remember When You Go To Pickup Your Puppy

August 2, 2010 By 1 Comment

So, the day to pickup your puppy has arrived and you’ve forgotten everything you learned.  We’re definitely guilty of forgetting a thing or two on puppy pickup days.  However, I like to keep a short list of Things To Remember When We Go To Pickup Our Puppy.

Things To Remember When You Go To Pickup Your Puppy

  1. Bring A Friend – life is much easier if you have a friend or family member to help you on puppy pickup day.  It shouldn’t be too hard to get someone to join you to pickup up an adorable fuzzy little puppy.  Plus this will help when you get to item #3.
  2. Bring A Kennel - if you brought a friend you may not need a kennel (we get a head start and let our puppy ride at our feet on the passenger side floor boards).  However, if you’re going solo like I did with Stetson then you definitely need a kennel during your drive home (you don’t want your puppy squirming and trying to jump up on your lap while you’re driving).
  3. Take Lots of Pictures/Video – it’s definitely a special day and you want to make sure you document as much as possible by having your friend take pictures and/or shoot video to capture the moment you’ll be happy you did.  Once again, if you’re going solo then bring along a camera and ask some of the other puppy raisers to take a few shots of you and your new pup.
  4. Bring Rags and Paper Towels – I’ve raised three puppies for Guide Dogs of America and two out of three have had accidents during the car ride.  Stetson had a pee accident during his kennel ride and Derby vomited on the passenger floor.  Lucky for us we lined the kennel and the passenger floor with old rags and cleaned up with paper towels.
  5. Bring Along A Stuffed Toy and/or Blanket - If you’re raising a puppy for Guide Dogs of America then you’ll most likely get a plush stuffed toy and a blanket in your bag.  However, every year we make sure to bring a stuffed toy of our own rub on our puppy’s litter mates.  This gets the scent of the litter and helps when it comes time for puppy’s first night home in his kennel.  We wrote a short article on getting the scent of the litter a couple years ago after we brought home Stetson.

One final tip for Guide Dogs of America puppy raisers:  Make sure you try and listen to every word Louise says right before you head down to the nursery.  She has some great points that will help you raise your puppy.  I know it’s difficult to listen it being so close to having your cuddly puppy in your hands, but it will definitely benefit you and your new Guide Dog Puppy In Training.

Have you guys been following us on Facebook or Twitter?  If not, check out our pages at http://www.facebook.com/PuppyInTraining and http://www.twitter.com/PuppyInTraining.  We’ve been adding short updates on our latest Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Dublin’s progress including “Status” Updates, Updated Picture Albums, and links to some of our other GDA friends.

One final thing to note: We also plan on putting together a YouTube Channel and keep a Guide Dog Puppy Training Video Journal starring Dublin.  We plan on getting our first episode posted this week so make sure to subscribe to our channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/PuppyInTraining.

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What Should We Do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?

July 27, 2010 By 1 Comment

Shortly after deciding on a name for our newest Guide Dog Puppy In Training (We chose Dublin just in case you haven’t been following us on Facebook or Twitter) we thought What Should We do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?

This thought crosses our mind each time we bring home a new puppy.  Whether it’s your first or fiftieth puppy it’s a good idea to think about a few basic things before bringing home that next puppy.  Here are a few things that crossed my mind this time around:

What Should We Do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?


  1. Read or Re-read Your Guide Dog  Puppy Manual – If this is your first Guide Dog puppy then reading your Guide Dog Puppy Manual is a must.  We like to re-read and review our puppy manual before bringing home a new puppy.  If you are not a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser then we recommend Puppies For Dummies.  We read Puppies For Dummies before picking up Linus and found it very helpful.
  2. Get Puppy Supplies (Or replenish your supplies if it’s your second…third puppy) – A while back we wrote a list of Must Have Puppy Products.  Here’s a short recap:
    • Dog Crate – We prefer the wire crates for two reasons.  It provides more ventilation then the plastic crates.  Second, it comes with a metal divider that allows your crate to grow as your puppy does.
    • Nature’s Miracle Stain & Odor Remover – Inevitably there will be some accidents around the house.  Nature’s Miracle is great at removing odors.
    • Bitter Apple Spray – We haven’t raised a puppy yet that does not chew in his leash.  We just spray a little bitter apple on the leash and our puppies stop chewing.
    • Puppy Toys – This is a link to the large plush Mallard one of  our puppy’s all time favorites.  However, we recommend getting all different texture toys to give your puppy some variety including other favorites like the Kong and Nylabone.
  3. Puppy Proof The House – We like getting down on our hands and knees to get our puppies view point.  You might notice that outlets and wires are right at puppy eye level.  Make sure to block these areas off to make your home is a safe environment for your puppy.

Puppy pickup day is an exciting one.  However, make sure you at the very least think about the three things we mention above before bringing home that shiny new puppy.

Have you guys been following us on Facebook or Twitter?  If not, check out our pages at http://www.facebook.com/PuppyInTraining and http://www.twitter.com/PuppyInTraining.  We’ve been adding short updates on our latest Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Dublin’s progress including “Status” Updates, Updated Picture Albums, and links to some of our other GDA friends.

One final thing to note: We also plan on putting together a YouTube Channel and keep a Guide Dog Puppy Training Video Journal starring Dublin.  We plan on getting our first episode posted this week so make sure to subscribe to our channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/PuppyInTraining.

Puppies For Dummies
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Guide Dog Training And Hosting In The UK

February 19, 2010 By 2 Comments

I’ve often mentioned that RSS subscriptions and Google Alerts are great ways to hear the latest news about any subject you’re interested in, for instance, Guide Dog Training.  Today I received a Google Alert titled What It Takes To Host A Guide Dog and thought that it was an interesting title.  I think it might have been the first time I had heard the term “Guide Dog Hosting.”  My first guess was that a Guide Dog Host might be equivalent to a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, but maybe it was a terminology used in another country.  Curious to see what the article was about I clicked through and found out…

How To Be A Guide Dog Host

Check out the video above.  Unfortunately I did not have the embed code so it will take you away to their website, but the video is a nice, short, and will tell you about Guide Dog Hosting.

According to the article Guide Dog Hosts are needed in Jersey to watch fully trained Guide Dogs when owners fall ill or go on holiday.  Here’s a quote from the article:

The Jersey Branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind recently made an appeal for people to come forward as potential hosts – just in case an owner falls ill or goes on holiday.

At the moment the dog has to go to the nearest branch in Exeter.

Since the appeal they’ve had 40 responses from people who have the space, time and experience of looking after dogs.

I know one of our dogs, Dustin is lucky enough to return home to his original Puppy Raisers when his owner goes on holiday.  I saw on his blog that Dustin was recently back with his puppy raisers for Valentine’s Day.  Check out his adventures at Dustin Yellow Lab.

Guide Dog Training Differences?

When we get our Guide Dog Puppies In Training our main job as puppy raisers is to train them in basic obedience and socialization.  We don’t teach our puppies any of the advanced guide dog training techniques.  However, after watching the video I noticed some possible differences between our puppy  guide dog training and puppy guide dog training in the UK.

Here’s what I noticed:

  • She mentions using a whistle and blowing it three times when it’s time to eat.  We train our puppies to sit-stay before they eat meals, but I’ve never heard of using a whistle.
  • She says that they are never to walk between parked cars.  As far as I know we can walk our puppies between parked cars.
  • Another rule she mentions is to always stop at the curb.  We are taught not to stop our puppies at the curb.  However, this could be something that changes in advanced training.

Fischer, the guide dog in the video, is a working Guide Dog and many of the things he has learned may be during his formal training.  I only know what we teach our guide dog puppies before they start formal training and that is basic obedience and socialization.

I find it very interesting to see not only how guide dog training works here in the United States, but how it works in other counties as well.

I’m sure there are slight differences from program to program even in the same country.  If you are a guide dog puppy raiser or trainer I’d love to hear what you have to say about guide dog training in the comments below.

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